How I Became a Board Gamer

Confession: I was not born a board gamer. I became one. Here’s how.

How to Win as the Papacy in Here I Stand (Three Basic Tips, #4)

When you have just learned a shiny new board game, especially one which is a bit longer and more complex than others, it’s nice to have some strategic direction. That’s what I aim to provide with my series Three Basic Tips – strategy advice for beginner and intermediate players that is easy to remember and yet gets you places. So far, I’ve covered Twilight Struggle, Prussia in Friedrich, and the Hapsburgs in Here I Stand. Today, it’s Here I Stand (Ed Beach, GMT Games) again – with three basic tips for the Papacy, a notoriously tough power to play (and win). I think that the Papacy is lots of fun, though, and here’s how to play the early game, how to win debates, and what do in diplomacy to succeed!

How to Win as the Hapsburgs in Here I Stand (Three Basic Tips, #3)

I often teach games to my fellow players. A lot of those games are somewhat complex (and often take several hours), so I don’t only explain how the rules work, but also give a bit of direction on the strategy – nothing worse than an evening spent feeling lost in the options or getting steamrolled because you didn’t know what was important! Of course, if the rules are already quite a lot to take in, you don’t want to be further overwhelmed by a lengthy speech on strategy. One method to keep which I’ve found keeps it short and sweet is giving the new player three basic tips. That’s something everyone can keep in mind!
So, without further ado, here are my Three Basic Tips for winning as the Hapsburgs in Here I Stand (Ed Beach, GMT Games): Which victory condition should you pursue, and how will you achieve it? How does your diplomacy prepare you for military success? And which rhythm will get you to European domination instead of a second-place finish?

Yalta, Potsdam, and the New World Order (End of World War II, #1)

World War II ended 75 years ago. 1945 was thus a massive watershed year in history. The biggest war that had ever been fought came to a close, and a new world order was forged. I’ll explore the end of World War II in a three-part miniseries. As war is an instrument of politics to achieve a better peace, I’ll kick the series off with this post on the conferences at which the great powers discussed the winning of the war against the Axis as well as the peace and the new world order which would follow. Several such conferences were held from 1943 on, but this post will only focus on the last two – the Yalta Conference in February 1945, three months before the end of the fighting in Europe, and the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, two months after the end of the fighting. 1945 was the end of World War II, but was it also the beginning of the Cold War? We’ll look into that question as well. As usual, board games will feature!

Letter of Congratulation on the Italian Campaign (USEAAR, #20)

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) and therefore entirely fictitious.
Written by Gianni Rossatti, Counsellor of Embassy in the Italian diplomatic service, posted at the Italian embassy in London

London, February 24, 1942

To Salvatore Graniti, currently posted as a liaison with the British Army in Italy
My dear Salvatore,
I have no idea where this letter will reach you. In November, you had just crossed into Calabria, in December, you were in Apulia already, just to embark again, and land in Trieste in January. Having just taken Venice, as I hear, I assume you will be half the way to the Reich Chancellery by now.

Willy Brandt and Détente (Century of German History, #7)

I’m doing a series on German history in the 20^th century on my blog this year. In intervals of 10 years, I pick a crucial event and explore it – with the help of precisely one board game. You can find the previous posts here:

• The Berlin Crisis (1959)
• The Ecology Movement (1979)
• The Kosovo War (1999)
• The Division of Germany (1949)
• The Naval Arms Race (1909)
• World War II (1939)

Today, we go back to 1969, when Willy Brandt took office as chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the policy of détente across the Iron Curtain he implemented then. Here, the „German question“ of reunification merged with superpower détente into détente between West Germany and the Soviet Union as well as her allies in Eastern Europe. And when it comes to matters of détente and confrontation, our accompanying game can be no other than the famed Twilight Struggle (Ananda Gupta/Jason Matthews, GMT Games). If you are interested in Brandt’s life beyond détente, check out one of my very first blog posts on exactly that matter.

Notes of the Diplomatic Proceedings in Rome (USEAAR, #4)

This post is part of an after-action report of Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games) and therefore entirely fictitious.

Notes of the diplomatic proceedings in Rome, taken by Salvatore Graniti, junior Secretary of Legation in the Italian diplomatic service

September 21, 1939

The Duce has been anxious to see the German delegation. He congratulates them on the great successes of their armies in Belgium and France. The Germans express confidence of further advances and hint at looking for a partner to share responsibilities for Europe. „We are no southern country, but the Mediterranean must have a firm hand and order as well“, says ambassador von Mackensen. The Duce replies that Germany has no better friend than Italy and that the old privileges of Britain and France must be altered to fit our new times.

World War II (Century of German History, #6)

I’m doing a series on German history in the 20^th century on my blog this year. In intervals of 10 years, I pick a crucial event and explore it – with the help of precisely one board game. You can find the previous posts here:

• The Berlin Crisis (1959)
• The Ecology Movement (1979)
• The Kosovo War (1999)
• The Division of Germany (1949)
• The Naval Arms Race (1909)

Today, we go back to September 1, 1939 and the German attack on Poland – the beginning of World War II. The game that accompanies us is Unconditional Surrender! (Salvatore Vasta, GMT Games). Now the events of World War II from the first shots to the final surrender of the Axis powers are well known (and covered by myriads of books, articles, and, yes, board games). Therefore, I’ll skip the narration of who conquered what when and instead focus on three crucial perspectives on the war and the board game: How was this war different from other great power wars before? How does the game balance between freedom of action of the players and recreating a historical outcome? And why does Unconditional Surrender capture an essential aspect of the war?
Finally, this post will also serve as the starting point of a new project: I’ll do a detailed Unconditional Surrender after action report. Follow my Twitter account for live updates (and vote on strategic decisions) and check out the larger narrative on the blog!

Idealism and Realism in the Fourteen Points

It often seems as if principles and power politics are at constant odds. Most political decision-makers are driven by both, but they constantly have to weigh one against the other – should they follow their convictions or do the gritty realpolitik that gets them what they want? Another common notion is that idealism holds as long as one is not in a position of power, after which it makes way for realism.^[1] I argue, however, that idealism and realism do not have to stand opposed, but in fact, are often intertwined in political decision-making. For that argument, let’s have a look at the “Fourteen Points” Woodrow Wilson suggested at the end of World War I, in his speech to Congress on January 8, 1918. After a quick look at the general ideas of the “Fourteen Points”, we’ll see how they were intended to serve short-term (mostly realist) and long-term (both idealist and realist) goals and what became of them.